Politics
Political system: parliamentary democracy
Head of state: president, elected directly by the people. Current president is Miloš Zeman.
Head of government: prime minister, exercising supreme executive power
NATO member since March 1999
EU member since May 2004
Schengen member since December 2007

Demography
Population: 10.5 million
Capital: Prague, population 1.2 million people
Language: Czech. The Czech language is a Slavic tongue, similar to Polish and closely related to Russian. (Everyone in the film business speaks English.)

Economy
Currency: Koruna, or crown, abbreviated CZK or Kč
VAT: 21%; Certain goods and services are taxed at a reduced rate of 15%.
GDP: $19,800 per capita
Work force: 5.4 million people